Jamaica uses the Jamiacan dollar. When my parents lived in Jamaica, they used shillings, pounds and guineas. This is when Jamaica was a colony of Britain. After independence, they switched to their own version of dollars and cents.
A bottle of water pretty much costs the same in Kingston as it does in New York. A small bottle of water is $100 JA, which is about 80 U.S. cents.
The best meal I had was in Portland. This weekend was an important weekend for the Maroon community in Charles Town. The Maroons are an important group of people in Jamaica. Historically, when the British captured Africans and brought them to Jamaica as slaves, groups of Africans had other plans and fought many battles to ensure their continued freedom. Many groups of Maroons still exist around the island and each year they celebrate their culture.
My host this weekend was a member of the Charles Town community and she prepared some wonderful breakfasts including ripe banana fritters, saltfish and callaloo, and plantain. Yum!
At the Charles Town festival this weekend, many drummers played various traditional Jamaican rhythms. Kumina is one very well known rhythm from a Jamaican-Congolese religion. A few days earlier, I attended a special ceremony for the former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, who recently died.
